Works by LGS Studio at The Future Perfect.
Photo: Elizabeth Carababas
Where to See Great Design in Los Angeles During Frieze Week
From talismanic sconces by a vanguard Bordeaux ceramicist to an offbeat group show unpacking the cultural mythos of the American cowboy
Los Angeles is a much different city now compared to the first week of 2025, before wildfires wrought unimaginable devastation on the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods. But not even the most severe climatic disasters can dampen Southern California’s unshakeable creative spirit, which goes on vivid display during Frieze Los Angeles. As artists, gallerists, and collectors descend on the City of Angels, its tight-knit design community has come together to mount a wealth of stellar shows around town emblematic of the creative community’s deep bonds and layers of support. Many exhibitions directly benefit fundraisers to support artists and designers who lost their homes and studios to the fires; others are vibrant showcases of the resilience and talent percolating within California’s creative capital. All are worth seeing.
“Nifemi Marcus-Bello: Oriki (Act III)” at Marta. Photo: Jide Ayeni
1. “Nifemi Marcus-Bello: Oriki (Act III)” at Marta
Copper has become a rare commodity in Africa, so when the Lagos-based designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello sought out the valuable material to expand on his portfolio of one-of-a-kind furnishings rooted in respect for Africa’s people and places, he was reoriented towards sourcing scraps within his hometown’s second-hand metal market. He employed it in clever ways to fabricate tables, lighting, and seating that comprises his latest collection: a daybed is ingeniously cast using a single mold and extends is lustrous surface from the seat of a chair; a lamp uses slender constructions of copper and blackened American pine to become a metaphysical object of deep significance.
February 21–April 5
“Taher Asad-Bakhtiari: Tribal Weave Project” at Hostler Burrows. Photo: Jesse Stone
“Taher Asad-Bakhtiari: Tribal Weave Project” at Hostler Burrows. Photo: Jesse Stone
2. “Taher Asad-Bakhtiari: Tribal Weave Project” at Hostler Burrows
The densely layered wool tapestries hand-crafted by Iranian-born artist Taher Asad-Bakhtiari often feature large-scale triangular patterning, their minimalist forms crossed by striated bars and lines that interrupt the logic of warp and weft while evoking shimmering landforms. Several hand-woven textiles at his latest exhibition put his artistry on vivid display while drawing from the essence of the kilim flatweaves and densely knotted gabbeh rugs emblematic of Iran’s cultural traditions. Rippling and glimmering as light and air pass through their exposed network of threads, they uncover hidden patterns and deftly employ the space in between.
February 15–March 29
“Primal Mysteries” at Ralph Pucci. Photo: Antoine Bootz
3. “Primal Mysteries” at Ralph Pucci
Ralph Pucci will host a silent auction of pieces on Thursday, February 20, by the likes of John Wigmore and Majorie Salvaterra, with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting LA Can Do, a nonprofit dedicated to helping communities impacted by the wildfires. That same day, the gallery will also spearhead the Hollywood Design Walk with nearby mainstays Apparatus, Holly Hunt, Blackman Cruz, and JF Chen to help foster community during a tough time of recovery. It’s also the perfect occasion to check out Primal Mysteries, the gallery’s first standalone in-house collection in more than a decade that pays homage Giacometti, Brancusi, and Miro through clay handwork and a sand-blasted appearance.
November 2024–ongoing.
Willett at The Future Perfect. Photo: Elizabeth Carababas
Amir Nikravan at The Future Perfect. Photo: Elizabeth Carababas
4. The Future Perfect
A trove of design awaits at The Future Perfect’s Goldwyn House, a dazzling 20th-century mansion with an old-Hollywood ambiance that serves as the collectible design gallery’s in-situ showpiece for its roster of vanguard talents. Much of the programming focuses on artists who were impacted by the wildfires. Among the highlights is furniture by Willett, who lost his Altadena home and imbues his distinctive pieces with curvilinear shapes that reflect the rhythms of everyday life. LGS Studio presents new ceramics inspired by co-founders Thomas Renaud and Noel Hennessy’s ongoing exploration of paleobotany. The interior designer and Galerie Creative Mind Nicole Hollis reworked the home’s dining room with custom Kamp Studios plasterwork and a medley of one-of-a-kind pieces by the likes of Chris Wolston and John Hogan. The gallery is also hosting a silent auction of collectible design works with 100 percent of profits going toward Grief and Hope, a fundraiser for artists who lost their homes and studios as well as the gallery’s local firehouse, Station 41.
Ongoing.
“Woody De Othello: Tuning the Dial” at Karma. Photo: Courtesy of Karma
5. “Woody De Othello: Tuning the Dial” at Karma
Opportunities for reflection and self-discovery abound in Woody De Othello’s inaugural Los Angeles solo show, which unites stacked sculptures, poignant works on paper, and even an ambient soundscape into perhaps the Miami-born artist’s most ambitious outing yet. Bronze assemblages of hands, ears, feet, and speaker horns collapse the distinction between seeing, hearing, and feeling, while a constellation of ceramic figurations rest atop forms inspired by boomboxes and African drums. The back room is where the real soul-searching begins—Othello blankets the entire floor with mounds of sand and sprinkles the walls with watercolors that he likens to the stars illuminating wayward travelers through the desert.
February 19–April 5
“Margaux Leycuras: Talisman” at Stahl + Band. Photo: Alyssa Quigley
“Margaux Leycuras: Talisman” at Stahl + Band. Photo: Alyssa Quigley
6. “Margaux Leycuras: Talisman” at Stahl + Band
Inspired by unidentified treasures like pebbles, coral, and sea glass washing ashore after a storm, Margaux Leycuras carefully translates their shapes and surfaces into materially rich talismanic sconces. Under the Bordeaux-based artist’s hand, each of the 11 fixtures on view forge dialogues between the rawness of ceramic—her favored material—and the precious language of sand-casted bronze while revealing the natural texture of raw sapphire.
February 22–ongoing.
“Saddle Up: Artistic Journeys Through Cowboy Culture” at Albertz Benda. Photo: Julian Calero
7. “Saddle Up: Artistic Journeys Through Cowboy Culture” at Albertz Benda
The mythologies of the American West continue to linger in the cultural imagination, which artist-turned-curator Devon DeJardin explores aptly in this group exhibition that asks artists like Chloe Chiasson, Raven Halfmoon, and Jess Valice what cowboy culture means to them. Setting the scene is furniture from a coterie of Friedman Benda designers—Carmen D’Apollonio, Galerie Creative Mind Raphael Navot, Faye Toogood—that each capture the American West’s spirit of radical authenticity. A portion of the exhibition’s proceeds will benefit L.A. Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, the Getty’s emergency relief fund for artists and arts workers affected by the wildfires.
February 20–March 29
“Check Diallo: Taama” at Southern Guild. Photo: Christopher Wormald
8. “Cheick Diallo: Taama” at Southern Guild
The Malinké word for “voyage” is a fitting title for a career-spanning exhibition tracing the prolific Malian designer, sculptor, and architect Cheick Diallo’s remarkable oeuvre, which spans experimental furniture, lighting, and objects known for their sensuous curves and for being artisan-crafted with everyday materials. Since setting up his studio in his hometown of Bamako just over a decade ago, Diallo has made a practice of salvaging waste material—metal, bottle tops, fishing rope, leather, old tires—and transforming them into collectible design that he re-sells to primarily European collectors in a concept he calls “return to sender.” His show runs alongside presentations of work by artists Manyaku Mashilo, Jozua Gerrard, and Jody Paulsen.
February 13–May 5
“Namoradeira” bench by José Zanine Caldas at Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Photo: Nicky Roding
Denuncia Trunk Lounge Set by José Zanine Caldas at Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Photo: Benjamin Baccarani
9. “José Zanine Caldas: I Learned Wood Has Two Lives” at Carpenters Workshop Gallery
José Zanine Caldas’s sculptural style and commitment to ecological awareness cemented the late architect, sculptor, and designer as a leading figure in Brazilian modernism. His philosophy about the multiple lives of materials—specifically how wood’s second life is generated by the human hand and spirit—underscores this exhibition, which spans raw and sensual furniture emblematic of his avant-garde approach. Among the radical works on view is the Namoradeira loveseat, inspired by traditional Brazilian canoe-building techniques and gave rise to a new artistic language based on his use of natural waste to forge softer, smoother shapes.
February 18–May 31
“Christopher Farr: Interwoven” at Foss and Dusk & Sun Photo: Courtesy of Christopher Farr
10. “Christopher Farr: Interwoven” at Foss and Dusk & Sun
Rare selects from the archive of Christopher Farr, the American purveyor of made-to-order handmade rugs, are paired with classic modernist furniture in a group exhibition that forges compelling links between art and design. The showroom and collaborative workplace Dusk & Sun is co-presenting with Foss new furnishings by Dusk, the fabrication studio whose rigorous pieces channel anew elements of Bauhausian precision; the display also features rugs by Josef and Anni Albers and Gunta Stölz. Foss, meanwhile, is showcasing rugs from the Christopher Farr archive that explore abstraction and surrealism. Works by Allegra Hicks, Romeo Gigli, and a pair of unique pieces from the 2015 Afghan Carpet Project at the Hammer Museum appear alongside modernist furniture and contemporary sculptural vessels by ceramicist Addison Woolsey and painter Strauss Bourque-LaFrance.
February 15–March 15
“Kalon Studios & The Panafold: Home.” Photo: Elizabeth Carababas
11. “Kalon Studios & The Panafold: Home”
The wildfires complicated the notion of home for affected Angelenos, deepening its emotional and philosophical weight while compelling some to examine what we carry with us and why. Co-curated by Kalon Studios co-founder Michaele Simmering and Annabel Graham, the editor-in-chief of newly launched California culture magazine the Panafold, this group show featuring the likes of architect and Galerie Creative Mind Kulapat Yantrasast, photographer Barry Underwood, and painter Paasha Motamedi meditates on the topography of our inner environments. Each work will be available for purchase through a silent auction with a portion of proceeds going to Los Angeles Fire Relief.
February 20–March 19
Cover: Works by LGS Studio at The Future Perfect.
Photo: Elizabeth Carababas
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